Massage unit



M. G. BLONG Dei. 9, 1956 MASSAGE UNIT Filed Nov. 3. 1954 nit MASSAGEUNIT Application November 3, 1954, Serial No. 465-,516

2 Claims. (Cl. 12S-33) The present invention relates to a mechanicalmassage unit, and particularly a massage unit actuated by a power drivenvibrator. Although other usages and applications will become apparent asthe description proceeds, the principal employment of the invention isin massaging the feet.

Experience has shown that the condition of the feet and legs oftendictates the physical well-being of a person. This is particularly truewith those who must be on their feet for prolonged periods, standingoften without any exercise of the foot muscles. The muscles often becomestit, and the soles of the feet calloused which makes increasinglydicult a penetrating massage to stimulate circulation and exercise themuscles of the foot.

With the foregoing in mind, it is a particular object of the persentinvention to provide a motor actuated body massage unit which willpenetrate heavy skin and give a deep muscular massage.

An ancillary object of the invention is to provide a foot massage unit,a portion of which may be employed to massage other portions of thebody.

Still another object of the invention is to provide a oatingly mountedmotor driven massage unit which is quiet in operation and inexpensive tomanufacture.

Further objects and advantages of the invention will become evident asthe following description proceeds, taken in conjunction with theaccompanying drawings in which:

Figure l is a perspective view of a massage unit exemplary of thepresent invention.

Fig. 2 is a plan view of the massage unit shown in perspective in Fig.1.

Fig. 3 is an end view of the massage unit shown in Fig. 2 but reduced inscale.

Fig. 4 is a front elevational view of the massage unit shown in Fig. 2also in reduced scale.

In order to thoroughly massage the body and particularly the feet, thecontact elements of the massage unit should be of a hardened material.Although it has been found advantageous to employ a plurality of freelyrotatable hardened discs, other hard surfaced elements may be employedwith efficacious results.

ln order to thoroughly effect, in the present instance, a deep massage,a power driven oscillatory type vibrator is located athwart the bodyengaging units. The entire massage unit is then suspended by yieldablemeans from a frame so that the body members, such as the feet, may beengaged with the contact elements under varying pressures depending uponthe requirement of the user. By arranging the elements so that thevibrator motor mechanism may be removed from the massage unit, thevibrator may be used independently on various other portions of theanatomy and thereby render unnecessary the expense of two separateunits.

Referring now to Fig. l, an illustrative embodiment of the inventionwill be seen to comprise the components including a frame 10, a massageunit 20 and a power driven vibrator 30. The massage unit is oatinglymounted from the frame 10 by means of tension coil springs 4,0 locatedvat the corners 11 of the frame 10.

In greater detail, the frame 10 as illustrated contemplates a unitarystructure of endless tubingV with four (4) feet, 12, which engage thefloor or other supporting surface upon which the massage unit rests.Legs 14 angle upwardly and outwardly from the feet 12 toward the corners11 of the frame 10. Rubber or other cushi'oning type sleeves may beprovided on the foot portions 12 of the frame to minimize the vibrationstransmitted through the massage unit to the surface on which it rests.Holes or other connecting means are provided at the vertex of thecorners 11 to receive the coil suspension springs 40.

The massage unit is shown in greater detail in Fig. 2 where it will beseen that in general the massage unit 20 contemplates a pair of footengaging elements which in turn are comprised of a plurality of circulardiscs 21 and spacer discs 22 mounted on a plurality of parallel rods 24between divider plates 25. Compression springs may be provided adjacentthe central plates 25 on the parallel rods 24 to center the circulardiscs 21 and spacer discs 22. Spacers 26 divide the central plates 25 toprovide space for a vibrator mount, here in the shape of a box 28. Theproportions of the vibrator box will be determined by the particularvibrator 30 which is intended for use with the massage unit 20.

in manually operated massage units much of the patients eifort must bedirected toward moving his foot or other body portion to be massagedover the contact elements such as the discs 21. Oftentimes if theoperation is painful, which often occurs in the case where massage ismost desperately needed, the patient will refrain from inilicting uponhimself the pain associated with adequate massage. Furthermore, hisilinching will prevent a uniform massage treatment from being effected.

By providing a power driven vibrator to stimulate the massage unit 20into a uniform vibrating motion, the patient is afforded an opportunityto relaxingly administer the massage treatment in accordance with hisneeds. The uniformity of the power driven vibration will not inflictsudden painful motion of the massage unit 20, but rather soothinglystimulates the action of the body engaging elements to massage muscleswhich may be covered by heavy callouses. The circulation is therebystimulated which brings relief from pain and loosens the muscles to thecondition desired.

lt has been found that treatments of only two to five minutes arerequired by persons employing a foot massage unit such as contemplatedby the present invention, whereas far more lengthy treatments may berequired with other massage units without the beneficial resultsobtained.

In addition if the patient requires muscular stimulation elsewhere onthe body where the hardened disc elements 2l such as illustrated are notrequired, the vibrator 30 may be removed from the vibrator box 28 andemployed for that purpose. Such an arrangement precludes duplicitousexpense for massaging units which makes the unit described above fallwithin the means of many purchasers who could otherwise not justify theexpenditure.

Although the particular embodiments of the present invention have beenshown and described in some detail here, there is no intention tothereby limit the invention to the details of such embodiments. On thecontrary, the intention is to cover all modifications, alternativeembodiments, usages or equivalents of the improved massage unit as fallwithin the spirit and scope of the inven- 3 tion as expressed anddefined in the specication and the appended claims.

I claim as my invention:

1. A power driven foot massage unit comprising, in combination, asuspension frame having corner suspension points, a massage unit frame,yieldable means hanging the massage unit frame from the suspensionframe, a pair of foot engaging members in the massage unit framecharacterized by a plurality of revolvable discs journalled along aplurality of parallel axes, a vibrator box rigid with the massage unitframe athwart the body engaging members, and a power driven vibratorproportioned tonest Within the vibrator box imparting a vibrating motionto the massage unit.

2. A power driven foot massage unit comprising, in combination, asuspension frame, a massage unit frame, coiled tensioned springsresiliently suspending the massage unit from the frame, a pair of footengaging members in the massage unit frame, a vibrator mount fixed tothe massage unit frame, and a power driven vibrator adapted forattachment to the vibrator mount.

References Cited in the le of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS BrobergOct. 22, 1940

